


In the end

by ReiKaname



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-11
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-07 01:55:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3156626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReiKaname/pseuds/ReiKaname
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time I saw him - I hated his guts. But, at the same time, I really liked him. Just, it took me the longest time to realize it. Along with the fact he liked me back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First time we met

Today was the big day for Naruto - the first day in their middle school. He successfully passed the admission exam and got to join the elite ninja middle school. 

As he yawned and stretched in his bed, big smile appeared on his face while Naruto hoped everything would be better form now on. Unwanted, thoughts of his former school and his failures filled his head. He was probably the worst student there – cutting class, not writing his homework, pulling pranks on teachers and other pupils… 

“I am not a failure!” Naruto thought, as his good mood suddenly dropped. He was so mad and feeling down before he even got a chance to get out of bed.

“There is no excuse to treat me like they did – to treat anyone like they treated me! Bullying and treating me like a lesser human being and teachers were even worse for pretending not to notice!”

In Naruto`s elementary school, nobody wanted to have anything to do with a strange hyperactive knucklehead blonde – his entire class either hated him or ignored him. 

Even if he did have a poor concentration, he wasn`t really stupid. It wasn`t his fault for being hyperactive – it was torture for him to sit still in class and pay attention to teacher. It usually took him a while to realize that his mind drifted away on a combat training while teacher was asking him a question. 

Naturally, it didn’t take long for the rest of the class to notice. They started calling him an idiot and even teachers treated him as if he was slow minded. During recesses in between classes, school bullies had a habit of using him for a punching bag, while the rest of the kids were having fun calling him names or just laughing at him for trying to talk to them. Lunch brakes were the worst. 

It wasn’t really all that bad. His homeroom teacher, Iruka-sensei, was one of the rare exceptions. He didn’t make fun of Naruto, nor did he ignore him – Iruka was the only teacher who believed in him and scolded the rest of the class for the way they treated Naruto.

But Iruka couldn`t be with him around the clock. Naruto, being a loud mouth and knucklehead, got in a lot of fights. He wanted to be a cool kid so badly that he would do anything to get attention. He refused to show how much it hurt him to be despised and kicked around by everyone. So when he was at his limits, Naruto decided to just skip school as much as he could without getting expelled. He would left permanently, but he really wanted to become a ninja, which required him to finish elementary school and pass the admission exam. 

It was the truth that he used his class skipping free time in exploring the town, visiting his favorite playground, grabbing a bite to eat at the nearest shop and playing pranks. 

Considering the future he chose for himself, Naruto also studied and trained really hard. Big part of his time out of school Naruto spent in the woods near the Konoha, which he called The training ground.

“I am gonna become a hokage. Belive it!” Naruto screamed as he practiced the taijutsu. That was probably the only thing he could hold on to, only thing that hold him together after all humiliation and fights at school. 

Only, leaving school ground didn’t make him feel any better. In the contrary – it made him feel exactly how alone he was. There was no one he could go and talk to, no one to play with. 

He felt emptiness and the pain of being alone combined with the anger as he walked alongside river just outside of the town on the end of the day while taking the longer route home. Sun was setting and if he went trough town he passed by the happy families around him, which only made him remember that there is nobody waiting for him at home. So he preferred the longer route.

“Why would no one talk to me? There isn’t anything wrong with me, is it?!” He could feel his stomach clenching at the thought while his eyes filled with tears full of anger and pain. Naruto shut his eyes, refusing to give in. 

He won’t cry over this. Not again. 

“Just let them wait until I become a hokage! Then everyone will respect me and want to be my friend!” Naruto thought, pushing the feeling away, swallowing the tick salty tears.

He knew he looked out of place in Konoha, with his blond hair, tanned skin and blue eyes, when the most of the people had pale skin and a dark hair, eyes and obviously soul. 

If any kid did actually talk to him (or God forbid play with him) it lasted as long as their parents didn’t spot them. As soon as parents laid their eyes on Naruto, they would grab the kid and pulled him as far away as fast as they physically could while yelling and scolding them.

“Sometimes,” Naruto thought, “they even had this look in their eyes, like they were afraid.” But that was silly of him to think. Why would grown man be afraid of the child like him? WHY did they all HATE him at all?!

He didn`t really know – was it his blue hair? Slightly different color of his skin? Or the three whisker-like scars on each cheek?

Naruto noticed that he already left town and that he is walking along side the river. The sunset was beautifully colorful – intensive orange sunrays mixed with dark blue sky on a pink background, with an occasional small white cloud. All the colors mixed as they were reflected in the water. 

He continued to walk home, sighing at his thoughts. Why he had to feel so lonely? 

Not much further, he suddenly felt someone’s presence stopping him dead in his tracks. It felt so familiar yet different. He was confused as he looked towards the river to see a boy sitting on a dock and looking at the water. The boy was all alone. 

He waited for a second to see if someone will come to walk him home, only to realize the expression on the boy’s face. It was sadness, much like his. Naruto didn’t really know how, but suddenly he knew that nobody is coming for the boy. He was just as lonely and in pain as Naruto.

In that moment, he felt the connection to the boy and wanted nothing more than to come and speak with him. Maybe even walk home together. Boy probably felt Naruto`s stare and turned towards him. He had spiky blue-black hair, serious expression on his face, inappropriate for a ten year old kid he was and dark eyes which glared in his direction. For a second, Naruto lost his confidence, and the moment passed. 

Serious expression on dark haired boy vanished as his eyes fell upon Naruto, letting in the arrogance and confidence. Boy gave Naruto one more look before he turned his head away in such arrogant manner that pissed off Naruto instantly. 

Naruto felt his pride kick in and he continued to walk, sticking out his tongue to the arrogant little bastard before turning his head away.

But although he knew that boy acted out like a spoiled brat, he kind of liked him. He glanced back, but boy kept starring at the river and wasn’t looking at him any more. Naruto felt his lips stretch into a grinning smile – he didn’t feel so alone anymore.

Naruto waved his head, pushing away thoughts and smiled widely.

“It doesn’t matter! Today, I start at new school and today is the day when I will finally make friends!”

He jumped out of his bed and quickly pulled on his orange tracksuit with black sleeves before pulling a cup of ramen for breakfast. He ate quickly, grabbed his new school bag and left for his new school, running as fast as he could.


	2. The first kiss

As Naruto walked into his new Genin classroom, his heart was light as a feather. He was wearing a big grin while he looked around. There were many seats taken already – obviously he was not the only one who thought of coming early. Some of the students were the kids he knew from primary school with a few new faces. Konoha had a several primary schools, so he was about to meet some new people and hopefully, make friends. 

As he glanced around, he saw Shikamaru, Coji and Hinata, his former classmates, but there was no pink hair among his new classmates. His face was a little sulky – he really hoped to see Sakura in his new class and if she was here, he would sit next to her! 

She was his crush ever since the day he met her in primary school but she would never talk to him. Sakura was really pretty and popular girl back then, but Naruto hoped things between them would change now.

So, where should he sit?

He thought about sitting next to someone he knew – Hinata was a loner but she was really nice to him on a few occasions. He started walking towards her when suddenly a picture of Sakura came to his mind.

“No way, I can`t sit there! Then Sakura would think I like Hinata more than her!”

He looked around again. Shikamaru wasn`t that bad, they skipped class a several time together, so maybe….

“No!” he yelled at himself mentally. “I am SO not going to skip class, not now that I`m finally a genin! It`s time for me to get serious if I want to become a hokage.”

He realized he was taking too long. Most of the seats got taken as he was over thinking it. 

“OK, I don`t want to sit next to someone I know (except Sakura, but she isn`t HERE). No back seats, all the troublemakers are there. That leaves…” he thought as he was looking around for the last time.

He saw empty spot next to the window in front row. Boy sitting there was glaring daggers at everyone who tried to sit next to him. Suddenly, he realized he knew him – it was the same kid he saw sitting on the river docks back then. The arrogant little bastard. He walked straight to him and seat down, leaving an empty spot between them. 

As he sat down, he heard whispers spreading around them like fire.

“Seat next to Sasuke is taken! Some blond kid just seat there!”

“What? Naruto is seating next to Sasuke?”  
“Yeah, he just came up there and seat.”

“He didn’t even ask him if he could?!”

“Sasuke obviously doesn’t mind – if he did, he would wipe the floor with Naruto!” 

“You don’t know Naruto then, he is troublemaker and probably got in more fights than anyone in this class. I think Naruto could take him on!”

“But Sasuke is an Uchiha, and the first ranking student in this class – no way that some kid could take him down!”

Naruto felt his heart racing. He was sitting next to the best student in their class, heh? He throw Sasuke a quick glance – he didn`t look like much. His shoulders were narrow, his figure slim and lean, and he was really well groomed… Naruto almost laughed. He looked more like a girl with his spiky hair doe, his girlish long fingers with perfectly cut and manicured nails.

“I could take you on, no problem,” Naruto thought.

In that moment, classroom doors swung open and Naruto lost his breath. Sakura flew inside with Ino, her cheeks a little read, her pink hair perfectly arranged around her face and falling down her back like a waterfall of cherry blossoms. And moment couldn’t be more perfect as she looked directly at him and smiled. She was soo perfect!

Naruto smiled widely as she rushed over to him, with angry Ino right behind her. She noticed him! FINALLY! And she is going to seat next to him, kiss him and… She stopped right in front of him.

“Naruto, could you move?” she asked him nicely, while her clear green eyes sparkled.

Naruto couldn’t believe that she was really going to seat next to him! He felt butterflies in his stomach flying towards his throat as he wanted to scream victoriously!

“Did you heard me, idiot?! Move, so I can seat next to Sasuke!” Sakura yelled and pushed him from his seat. He was so shocked that he lost his balance and fell on the floor. Every last butterfly died in excruciating pain, as he rose from the floor. Sasuke still had his arrogant face expression while he pretended not to notice the most beautiful girl in the world was sitting next to him! The girl HE liked. What the hell was it so special about him that everyone just went crazy?!

Before he knew what he was doing, Naruto jumped on the table and crouched in front of Sasuke, who was unable to continue his uninterested stare through the window while Naruto was breathing down his neck. 

The blond was glaring, a few centimeters in front of him. Sasuke glared back at him with annoyed expression on his face.

“Idiot! Get away from him!” he heard Sakura screaming, which made him even more furious at the boy in front of him. Sasuke glared back at him and was just about to say something as Naruto felt someone hit him in the back.

As he lost his balance, he opened his mouth in a slight shock while he was falling. His arms flew forward, but it was too late – in the next moment he felt his lips connected with the thin lips in front of him and they both took a small surprised breath as their tongues touched. Sasuke tasted like dark chocolate, sweet and sour at the same time. As their lips parted, Naruto flung himself off the table and spited, then whipped out his mouth with the back of his hand. He heard gagging noises from Sasuke`s direction.

While he was spitting, he heard girls screaming in horror.

“Sasuke just had his first kiss! With that obnoxious kid, Naruto!” a girl with ponytails   
yelled.

“No way!” screamed the dark haired girl.

“Narutooooooooooooo!! I will make you pay for this!!” he heard Sakura screaming. Ino stood next to her and nodded her head at Sakura`s words. He heard knuckles cracking and Sakura punched him in a face with all she got.

“I was supposed to be Sasuke`s first kiss! You just have to ruin everything for me, don’t you Naruto?!” she yelled. 

All the guys around him were laughing their ass off.

“Did you see how he kissed Sasuke?” a guy who seat behind them laughed.

“Yeah, Naruto, we all know Sasuke is number one, but it is not gonna pass on to you if you rub against him!” 

Naruto felt his anger building up, along with the tears of shame. First day, and he already embarrassed himself. Sakura was mad at him and probably hated him, judging by the look she was giving him as she sat next to Sasuke.

Slowly, he got back to his seat as Iruka-sensei walked in. Everyone took their seats as Iruka-sensei started talking.

For once, Naruto didn’t have a problem concentrating on their sensei.

***

“From today, you are ninjas. To get here…” Iruka-sensei spoke, and for the first time in his life, Sasuke couldn’t concentrate on his words. He could still sense the tingling sensation where Naruto˙s lips had touched him, and he was fighting the urge to wipe them off and spit. His mouth still had an aftertaste of Naruto`s breath, sweet like oranges.   
On the thought, he felt anger rising at his chest, so he closed his eyes, inhaled a slow breath and opened his eyes as he exhaled. 

What had gotten into him? He was an Uchiha. 

Uchihas didn’t lose their composure, neither did they yell. And yet, as soon as he laid his eyes at Naruto, he felt an irresistible urge to do just that. 

He took another deep breath and concentrated on their sensei. He could get back at Naruto later. 

***

“You will be placed in a three man squads, lead by a jonin. The squads were formed by your strengths and abilities. Now, I will read the squad list and after lunch, you will meet your sensei here to continue on your training.” Iruka-sensei said while he pulled the list out from the pile on the desk.

You could feel atmosphere in the classroom tighten. Everybody listened carefully as Iruka-sensei started to read, waiting to hear who they will team up with. 

Naruto was sitting on the edge of his seat, waiting his name to be called out.

“Let it be with Sakura, let it be with Sakura, let it be with Sakura….” he cheered in his head.

“Squad seven,” Iruka-sensei called. “Uzumaki Naruto. Haruno Sakura…”

Naruto had a feeling that gods have smiled on him! He jumped out of his seat, grinning widely as unwanted thought came to his mind.

“Who will be the third member?”

He felt his joy slightly settling down as he glanced towards Sasuke. Immediately, he felt a rush of anger. I can live with anyone but him! 

“… and Uchiha Sasuke.” Iruka-sensei finished.

Naruto could feel the doom coming over him. He looked at Sakura, who was literally jumping on her seat, her eyes glued on Sasuke. He will never be able to get together with her. Gods didn’t smile at him, after all. They wore an evil grin and decided to torture him.

***

Sasuke walked down the street, determined to get back at Naruto. You could feel the anger radiating off of him! Not only did he embarrass him in class, he attacked him by surprise and knocked him out. Now, he is going to pay!

“Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun!” 

He heard that pink airhead, another member of his new team, calling out for him. He ignored her for a moment, but then a brilliant thought popped into his head. She might know where Naruto is – after all, he is dogging her steps.

“Do you know where Naruto is?” he asked, ignoring the irritating flow of words coming from her mouth.

She looked a little surprised.

“Why would you want to see Naruto? He is an annoying knucklehead who picks fights as he goes. I believe it is because he has no parents – nobody is there to scold him! I could only imagine how MY parents would react if I was acting out like him. But he is all alone, so he acts all bratty and obnoxious.” Sakura was babbling. 

Sasuke felt a burst of anger towards the girl, forgetting all about how mad was he at Naruto. He knew exactly how Naruto felt and hated Sakura for being so judgmental over a thing she knew nothing about. She had no idea how hard it was to grow up alone, without anyone to be there when you need them. Nobody to talk to, to laugh with you, to help you… not even to scold you.

“Alone.” He spoke silently. The word was heavy in the air in between them.

“You have no idea what it means to be lonely.”

“Why would you say something like that?” Sakura asked, surprised by the anger in his voice.

Sasuke glared daggers at her for a moment before he turned his back at her.

“Because you’re annoying.”


	3. Hatake Kakashi

Naruto stood in the shadow, little off the main road and couldn`t believe his eyes.

Sasuke, the arrogant little bastard, on whom he just spent his whole lunch break pulling pranks on, ditched Sakura because she trash-talked him.

Nobody stood up for him. Ever.

So, why did Sasuke?

Caught in the moment, he abandoned his plans on pulling further pranks, and decided to return to classroom instead, still thinking about the conversation he overheard.

How the hell would Sasuke know anything about being alone? He was top class student with a horde of fans roaming around him! 

Naruto sat at the end of the table, ignored by the rest of the students who already came back from their lunch break. Naruto felt a surge of anger rushing trough him. 

“What was so special about Sasuke that everybody cared so much about HIM?!” he thought.  
“He even got Sakura`s attention! Nobody ever got Sakura to care…” He tried to get her attention for years and it never worked!

Suddenly, a picture of a little dark haired boy sitting alone on docks came to mind. Back then, he got a feeling that boy was just as alone as he was.

Naruto sighed.

Maybe he was wrong about Sasuke all along?

“Movie it.” A sharp commanding voice interrupted his line of thought. Naruto didn`t have to look up to know Sasuke has returned. Nobody else got him so worked up the moment they opened their mouth.

As their glared on each other, Naruto felt an impulse to smack that “I`m better than you all” look off his face. But he barely got accepted to the academy, and he really, didn`t wanted to be suspended on his first day, so he moved the chair.

As they waited for their sensei – Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke sit quietly. 

Sakura, who was still embarrassed how Sasuke ditched her, sat in the middle with a flushed face. Naruto was sitting on her right, frowning and occasionally glancing towards Sasuke, who stared out of the window and ignored them. 

Rest of the classroom was filled with studens lively conversing with their new teammates about upcoming training and missions, obviously excluding Team 7. Nobody wanted anything to do with them, since they were basically consisted out of a loudmouth troublemaker nobody liked and genius who didn`t like anybody. 

Little by little, all the students left, except the team 7 – who still sat in their places not talking to each other when a tall man in a jounin uniform - with a mask over half of his face and white, spiky hair - walked in. 

“So, you are still here?” 

Man asked jokingly, glancing from one to the other, assessing them.

“You are late!” Naruto yelled and jumped out of his chair, obviously not able to sit quietly a second longer.

“Naruto! Shut up, you are rude to our sensei!” Sakura scolded after him, getting out of her chair with more grace and looking at Sasuke, who just got up and walked towards their sensei, ignoring her.

As they gathered in front of him, Kakashi looked at them again.

“My name is Kakashi, and I am choosen to lead your team. And I am not really pleased to meet you.” He introduced himself, still smiling under his mask.

At least it looked like he is. 

His words didn`t match it.

“So, every once in a while, I get a group of kids trying to become a genin. And, out of all of them – I like you the least.”

Naruto looked at Kakashi not believing what he hears. Was he even allowed to talk like this? He glanced over at Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura was looking a bit offended by his last remark, but Sasuke just stared at him. 

“I guess the feeling was mutual, as far as Sasuke is considered.” Naruto thought.

“But, as my job isn`t assessing if you are likeable people, but competent to become a genin – it`s not really important. I just wanted to let you know that I don`t like you. So, lets start with the part I AM assigned to do – come with me.”

They followed him outside to the rooftop of their academy.

Kakashi walked in a cat like manner, with a straight back, not even glancing to see if they are following him. He was different from Iruka, who was always turning around and scolding them to keep up and be quiet. 

In that moment that Naruto realized – if they didn`t follow, Kakashi wouldn`t run after them to scold them and make them go back to class. It was their decision to follow him. 

It scared him, but also it thrilled him. He was not going to back down. If he ever wants to become a Hokage, it was on him to give it all he has. 

When they climbed up, Kakashi spoke again:

“Sit down.” He gesticulated at the stairs they stood on. 

As on the queue, Naruto sat down and landed on Sasuke`s feet. He was nervous, and he didn`t bother to check behind him, where Sasuke already settled, since he was the last one to walk up on the rooftop.

Sasuke pulled one leg out and kicked him in the back. 

“Heey!” Naruto regained his balance and was about to kick him back, when Kakahi cleared his throat. 

After a quick glance back to the intimidating man, Naruto squeezed in between Sakura and Sasuke, to Sakura`s annoyance. She moved away, but he knew she wouldn`t scream in front of Kakashi.

“Well, since we are all here, lets introduce ourselves – tell me your likes, dislikes and dreams. I will go first. My name is Hatake Kakashi, jonin ranked ninja. I don`t like you, so I won`t share any personal information with you.”

They stared at him again.

“Didn`t we already know his name?” Naruto whispered to nobody in particular.

“Yes, he told it earlier.” Sakura replied, just as quietly.

Kakashi stared back at them, waiting. No reply. 

He was kind of intimidating them and at the same time asking them to talk.

Naruto, being Naruto, couldn`t stay silent for long. He was just too nervous to wait, so he began with the only thing he really liked. Ramen!

“Fine, fine! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like cupped ramen, but I love the ramen Iruka-sensei once treated me to over at Ichiraku`s. I hate that 3 minute waiting time for cup ramen. And my dream is to become a Hokage!”

Kakashi listened to him, and then looked at Sakura, who blushed and started giggling. 

“Well.. my name is Haruno Sakura. The thing I like…” she began, and glanced over at where Sasuke was seating.

“I mean, who I like…” she stopped herself mid-sentence, giggling. 

Naruto looked at her flushed, giggly face. “Yup – gods hate me. No way she will ever like me with that guy around.” he thought.

“And my dream is to.. ammm..” Sakura glanced towards Sasuke again, her face all read.

Naruto wanted to die. “What does she SEE in the guy?! All he does is literally just scowl and frown and ignore her! Jeeeeeezzz!!!” 

Kakashi looked at her with bored expression.

“And the thing you hate?” he asked, determined to put an end to her giggling.

As if someone pulled a switch, her expression changed to a murderous one.

“NARUTO!” she growled. 

Kakashi stared at Sasuke next. Sasuke stared back at him.

“What about you?” Kakashi asked, since it was clear that Sasuke rather wouldn`t share anything about himself.

“My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don`t really like anything, but I hate a lot of things. I don`t have a dream, but I do have an.. ambition. To execute revenge at a certain… person.”

Naruto felt as all the hairs on his head lifted. “Does he mean him? He kind of looked at his direction when he spoke…”

“Wonderfull!” concluded Kakashi. “This is all for today. You are to meet me tomorrow in 5a.m. on the training ground outside the town!”

With that words, Kakashi disappeared into the thin air. 

***

“Today is the worst day of my life” Naruto thought. He was tied to a tree and hungry.   
The whole assignment they had scheduled has in fact been the test to determine which teams had the ability to actually become genin – the rest of them, who don`t pass, return to academy.

And for now – it all looked like they are going to fail. The assignment was to take the bell from Kakashi and they all failed to do it. 

Well, at least Kakashi promised them another try. 

After lunch.

That he wasn`t getting, for trying to eat during assignment. 

 

***

Sasuke brought his chopsticks to his mouth and chewed. He could hear the Naruto`s stomach rumbling and even though he was hungry, he suddenly lost his appetite. Not looking at him, he offered his lunch to Naruto.

“Here, have some.”

Sakura just swallowed a mouthfull of rice, not bothered with Naruto`s fatigue.

“No, Sasuke, we can`t! If Kakashi-sensei sees us, we`ll all fail!” she squeaked, looking around in panic.

“I don`t care.” Sasuke brushed her off and looked at Naruto, wondering why the fool didn`t eat. 

Naruto looked at him with such a puzzled look that his Uchiha mask almost slipped. He maybe was hyper kid with no brain-to-mouth filter, but he was not an idiot everybody thought him to be. 

“What are you doing, usuratonkachi?” he bit out, frowning at Naruto. “Eat, before Kakashi comes back.” 

“She is right. I can`t. If Kakashi-sensei catches you giving me lunch, he will send you back to academy along with me.” Naruto replied, shaking his head.

Sasuke just stared at him. It didn`t make sense to him. Why would he take sacrifice for them? Sakura was nothing but a bitch to him this whole time, and he wasn`t exactly nice to him either. They weren`t his friends or anything.

Naruto shot a look towards Sakura. She bit her lip and looked at her lunch, looking guilty.

Did he like her that much? Was he willing to remain hungry for the rest of the exam just so she wouldn`t fail because of him?

Sasuke felt a surge of anger towards Sakura. How was she able to treat Naruto like this? It was obvious that he is doing this for her, and she isn`t stupid.

“Tsk. Just eat. Kakashi isn`t around, I can`t feel his presence.” Sasuke brushed off his comment. “You heard what Kakashi said. He wants us to work together in the next try.”

Sakura registered his words and turned her head towards Naruto with pink cheeks but determined eyes. 

“He is right. We need to work together, and for that we can`t have you passing out from hunger in the middle of it, or we WILL be sent back to Academy.” She said, pining Naruto with strict stare. 

But, as she offered him her lunch too, she smiled kindly. “Here, take my lunch, I can`t eat another bite anyway!”

Naruto`s blue eyes widened in surprise as he looked from Sasuke to Sakura. 

“Guys… thank you! I promise, I will give my best so we can all pass!” 

As he spoke, a little tear fell down his cheek and his bottom lip started to tremble. Sasuke was so not going to have him cry and summon Kakashi over, not now when they finally managed to convince him to eat.

He took a rice ball and shoved it in Naruto`s mouth as he was preparing to cry out, causing the blond to frown as he half-choked on the amount of rice filling his mouth.

“Eat now. I don`t have time to hear you whine.” Sasuke commanded, unfazed by frowining.

At those words, Naruto chewed and swallowed the rice ball to retort, but as he opened the mouth, Sasuke shoved in another rice ball, smirking at furious blond glaring daggers at him. 

At last, he got an opportunity to get back at him for all the embarrassment he put him through this morning.

This was obviously the best torture for Naruto – keeping him from talking while he wanted to say something so bad. He might as well enjoy it. Sasuke picked out the biggest rice ball he had, but never got a chance to actually shove it in the blond`s mouth.

“What are you doing!!” 

Kakashi announced his return with a yell that got both Sakura and him to drop their lunch. 

“Well.. we thought..” Sakura began explaining, but Kakashi refused to let her finish sentence.

“YOU THOUGHT?! I said DO NOT feed Naruto! What was there to think about?” Kakashi yelled at her. Sakura appeared to shrink under the cold, strict glare out of the grey eyes.

“You told us to work on our teamwork! We did it. So, what`s the problem?” Sasuke replied, glaring at Kakashi.

“You gave the food to Naruto when I specifically forbid you to!”

“Well, maybe..” Naruto began, drawing Kakashi`s attention from Sakura and Sasuke.

Sasuke frowned. What will the idiot do now? They took the risk willingy and got busted. There is no point to sugarcoat it. Kakashi will send them back to academy anyway.

“Maybe they cared more for me as their friend and teammate, than for your orders! You told us to be a team, just before you left. Now, when we are acting like a team, you are punishing us!” Naruto yelled at Kakashi, determined to fight the injustice, even when tied up to a tree.

Kakashi eyed him for a moment.

“Exactly.” He replied, scowl disappearing from his face, replaced with a smile.

“Congratulations! You passed!”

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were too shocked to do anything but stare at their sensei.

“That was the whole point. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, yes. But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. If you want to go on real missions, you must learn to obey orders. But sometimes, in extreme situations, you must disobey orders and put the lives and safety of your friends before the mission.”


	4. Bickering - Kakashi is NOT happy

Naruto just couldn`t believe his luck! After year of extensive taijutsu training with Kakashi, Team 7 was finally going on a real mission in a couple of days!

He knew that genin like them had to run low ranked missions around the village for a while, but it was almost a year and a half passed since they passed admission exam. 

In the beginning, it was fun to chase lost cats and run a simple errand – Kakashi insisted they do most of those tasks as a team so they would get to know each other and learn to work together.

But for him, it was always a chance to best SASUKE. 

Just thinking about the guy was enough to make his blood boil! He was so full of himself and always put Naruto down, as if he was sooo smarter and stronger! 

Ok, Naruto was ready to admit that the guy was a fucking genius when it came to school stuff, but no way he was ever going to best him as a ninja! 

Naruto formed a plan. After they were done with their missions and training with Kakashi, he would have an extra round of training on his own to improve his abilities! 

So far, it was working –he took the lead in the number of cats he caught and returned. 

But Kakashi-sensei wasn`t pleased with him.

“If Sasuke is a team leader and he says not to pursue, then you DO NOT pursue!” Kakashi-sensei scolded him, God knows which time. 

It was always the same story. Kakashi made Sasuke the team leader, and he was always an ass towards him – purposely making him fail the missions by giving the last second order to stop pursuit. Naruto, of course, ignored that order – which usually ended up with successful capture of the cat.

But, Kakashi had another thing in mind – since every time he scolded him for disobeying orders instead of congratulating him for successfully completing the mission.

Which, of course made Naruto only more angry.

“Why not?!” he yelled in reply, losing his temper. “Because Sasuke said so? I got the cat, case solved!”

Kakashi looked at his blond knucklehead genin, who was currently glaring daggers at Sasuke, and let out a sigh. 

“No, Naruto. It`s because you were supposed to work as a team! And if Sasuke is a team leader, you must listen to him!”

Naruto turned his gaze towards Kakashi. 

“Why can`t I be the team leader, Kakashi-sensei? Why does it always has to be Sasuke?!”

“Because, usuratonkachi, if you were a team leader, you would rush in head on without thinking and get nothing done” answered Sasuke before Kakashi could open his mouth, with arrogant expression on his face.

“He has the point,” added Sakura, catching up with them on the meeting point. “Sasuke always comes up with the plan, which isn`t your strong suit.”

That was it – Naruto lost his temper and was ready to kick Sasuke into the ground. He really, really hated the guy! 

But before he could, Kakashi grabbed him.

“Ok, ok, you are done for today – you can go!” Kakashi said, while still restraining Naruto. 

As Sasuke and Sakura left, Kakashi let go of Naruto, who started to leave in opposite direction.

“Hold it! I still want to talk to you” said Kakashi.

Naruto stopped and turned towards him, letting out a sigh.

“What is it Kakashi-sensei? More lecturing?”

Kakashi took a moment to gather his thoughts. He knew that yelling at Naruto would get him nowhere, just like lecturing him – but he had to make him understand the point of this missions.

“Do you want to go on higher ranking missions, Naruto?” asked Kakashi.

Change on Naruto`s face was instant – as if someone turned a switch. He was grinning widely, completely forgetting how he was mad a moment ago.

“Sure I do, Kakashi-sensei!” 

“Then I have to tell you – it is never going to happen.”

Naruto looked startled and angered in the same moment, his jaw dropping. What was Kakashi saying? Why wouldn`t they go on the missions – they successfully completed every mission given to them!

“What?! Why not? Becau…”started Naruto, but Kakashi cut him off.

“At this rate, none of you will ever become anything more than genin. It doesn`t have anything to do with how much you train. You are always in Sasuke`s face, disobeying his orders, and he is always purposely sabotaging you! The only part of your team that is reliable is Sakura! As you are now, you will all get killed if you ever went on a high ranking mission!”

Naruto looked at Kakashi. A little he could make of his face was dead serious. 

“Tell me, who is the best suited to be a team leader on Team 7?” asked Kakashi.

Naruto wanted to claim it was him, he really did! But, if he would be telling the truth, it was…

“Sasuke” answered Naruto slowly, admitting defeat. 

Kakashi let silence drag for another moment before continuing.

“I passed you all and let you join Team 7 because you showed great team work. In the last year and a half, every mission you were on ended up with two of you bickering and fighting! Now, if that doesn`t change, I won`t go with you on a misson - I`ll send all three of you back to academy!”

Naruto opened his mouth, but Kakashi was already leaving, fishing a book out of his pocket, leaving him alone and in deep thought at their meeting point in the woods.

***

“I am sending you back to academy!” 

Those words ringed in Naruto`s head as he was walking towards his apartment.

He couldn`t believe it! 

If Kakashi sends them back, there is no way he could ever become high-ranked ninja, let alone hokage!

Naruto walked down the road, kicking a small stone along the way.

What the fuck was he supposed to do? 

There is no way he could just let it be. He must do something about it! But what?

Every time he thought about what Kakashi told him, he kicked the stone a little harder. 

Sasuke is the one at fault this happened, anyway!

He kicked the stone with a little more force than necessary, sending it flying into the first floor window of the nearby house.

As the sound of the shattered glass filled his ears, Naruto`s stomach curled up in itself. A second later, angry face appeared on the window. 

Shit! 

Next second, he was running for his life, followed by extremely pissed off housewife armed with a broom. Ninja or not, pissed off old ladies armed with brooms still scared the shit out of him.

When he finally lost her and found himself back in the apartment, it was lunch time. Meaning – cupped ramen!

As he waited for water to boil, his mind returned to the current problem, for which he still didn`t found a solution. 

What the fuck does he do about teamwork with Sasuke? 

“I could try to obey what he says…” Naruto thought, but in that moment, smirking face came to his mind.

“In the next life! No freakin` way!” he yelled, glaring at the boiling water in the pot. 

What was he even thinking? He had problem listening to the Kakashi`s orders.

He poured water over his meal and started eating at inhuman speed, still thinking about it.

Why didn`t Sakura have any problems in working with either of them? 

Sakura never disobeyed what Sasuke said, and always followed them in the missions – she even let him take the lead while chasing cats. 

“Maybe I should aks her what do to?” he thought, but almost instantly dropped the idea. She would just defend Sasuke and make him look as if it was solely his fault, just like today. Her words also rang in his head, and it wasn`t helping his sour mood.

“Sasuke always comes up with the plan, which isn`t your strong suit.”

As much as he hated to admit it, it was true. Sasuke DID always come up with…

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, grin stretching along his face!

“A plan!” he exclaimed. 

It was just as simple as that! He was sure Sasuke wanted to stay on Team Kakashi just as much! So, if he can`t find a way, he should say to Sasuke what Kakashi told him – and SASUKE will come up with a plan!

As he swallowed the last bit of his lunch, Naruto put his shoes on and ran in the direction of Uchiha district.

It wasn`t a long walk, given that he lived on the outskirts of Konoha, and only thing behind it were Uchiha clan`s district, woods and a river.

As he neared the Uchiha district, the streets began to look empty. When he was a kid, he used to go home along the way near Uchiha district – he liked that almost nobody was ever around. There was nobody staring or frowning as he walked by and it was relaxing. But he never actually went into the district.

Walking down the main street, Naruto noticed how all the houses looked…strange. He walked by, shaking away unsettling feeling. Also, it was incredibly quiet. There was no people on the streets, not even kids. Were all the Uchiha`s as antisocial as Sasuke?

He shook his head, dismissing the thoughts. He was here to find Sasuke and ask him to come up with a plan that won`t get them sent back to academy, not to study social skills of the clan. 

He knew the address from his file – Kakashi made them remember each other`s info as a punishment, on one occasion. He was trying not to read anything, but after two hours he was so bored he knew it by heart, including the hobbies section. Who knew it would actually come useful.


	5. What did you just say?!?!

Sasuke smirked as he prepared to leave the house. It was funny watching that knucklehead idiot squirm and rage without anything he could actually do. It was his fault anyway – Kakashi was right – Sasuke was most competent among the three of them to be a team leader. He should just listen to the orders instead of doing what he always does - rushing in without a thought and making them all catch up. 

Unwanted and uncalled, a memory of that man rushed into his head.

Sasuke closed his eyes, trying to collect himself, but failing miserably. Tall feature walking in front of him. Always making him second best. Making him catch up, but never really allowing him to.

The feature of a brother he hated. Feature of the brother he loved.

And the beast he proved to be in the end.

Sasuke opened his eyes covered in cold sweat, world dyed in red. Was he truly covered in blood? Was this real or a part of a living nightmare he was stuck in?

A hard knock on the door felt like a bucket of cold water.

Sasuke frowned. 

Officially, he was given an apartment in the residential area close to the academy. That was the address he gave on all the forms. Besides, it wasn’t like he had friends that would come over to hang. So, who could it be that was searching for him here?

Sasuke took three steps and grabbed the door knob, when a horrifying thought crawled into his head.

Was it HIM?

His hands started to sweat. It was frightening, but at the same time he felt excited about the possibility he would open the door and find those red and black orbs staring at him. To be able to see his brother again.

Lost in that though, Sasuke pulled the door towards him without even realizing what was he doing, and was actually surprised when he was met with electric blue eyes and somewhat unsure expression on Naruto`s face.

 

In that moment, on the edge of sinking into another daydream/nightmare about his brother coming back, possibility that Naruto – the last person he would ever expect to know where he lived AT ALL, let alone his old address – was knocking on his door, felt like another product of his disturbed imagination. 

Not sure at what he was looking at, shocked expression turned on his face while he waited for Naruto to speak.

Did he compare Naruto so much to Itachi that somehow he managed to merge them into one person? It was scary possibility – he saw Naruto at school and training every day, what if he started losing himself between what was real and what was not?

But fortunately, when Naruto finally decided to speak, the next thing he said deleted such possibility – not even in that much of a disturbed state would he, or Itachi for that matter, manage to say something THAT stupid.

“Sasuke. I didn`t know you live here.” Naruto said with still confused expression, looking around the abandoned front yard, eyes lingering on the tall grass and spider webs all around the terrace. As if he realized what he was doing was inappropriate when you come into someone’s home for a first time, his eyes snapped back to Sasuke`s face.

His appearance completely managed to dispel the daydream Sasuke was having, which was a good thing and a bad thing. 

He liked to think about his brother and what he did – it fueled him with hatred and determined him even more to get revenge. 

Naruto`s face wore a curious expression as if he knew what is going through his head. Sasuke hated his sense of intuition – it was too sharp to his liking.

“What, you normally go around the town and knock on the doors at random to see who lives there?” Sasuke pointed out. 

Any sign of confusion left Naruto`s face the second he heard that remark, replaced with anger.

“Of course I don’t!”

“What do you want then?”

Naruto`s face changed as he remembered WHY was he even here.

“We have to talk.”

Sasuke snorted at his words.

“Leave. There is absolutely nothing for us to talk about.” He said and tuned around closing the door behind him. As if he would want to talk with that idiot about anything. As if.

“Kakashi said to me that he will send us back to academy.”

IF there was anything, anything at all, that cold make Sasuke pause and change his mind – it was that thing.

“Liar,” he stated and turned back towards Naruto.

But, as he faced the other boy and saw his serious expression, it was clear that he was serious.

“I wouldn’t lie or play pranks when it comes to becoming ninja. You know me long enough to know at least that.”

Sasuke was sure, even though he lacked talent, that Naruto shared his goal to advance as fast as possible. He wouldn’t lie about a thing like this. 

“He said we are wasting his time with a meaningless bickering and that at this rate we will never go on any higher ranked mission. And…”

Naruto shuffled his feet, mumbling the next part as fast as he could.

“And if we don`t start working as a team he will send us back to academy.” 

Sasuke frowned again at him. No! He didn’t do anything wrong – Naruto was wrong here. He was the one lacking self discipline and teamwork. Not him.

“So, what are you doing here? He said that because you don’t have any idea what a teamwork is, and I’m sure you can practice that with Sakura – what is more to your liking anyway.”

Sasuke closed the door to his house. Anger flooded his mind. He needed to leave and vent. Now. Why won’t the idiot figure it out and leave him alone?

“Just for your notice, Kakashi said SAKURA was NOT the one with a problem. So why would I go talk to her when we are the ones who have a problem?” Naruto yelled at him and leaned forward invading Sasuke`s personal space. Sasuke wasn’t the one to back out, especially when he wasn’t wrong.

“Then you should go and ask her for tips! Stop bothering ME about it, when YOU are the one failing to listen to me as your team leader and doing things your own way! NOT ME! YOU!”

Sasuke`s cheeks felt hot and his hands were shaking out of anger even when pulled in fists. He wanted to punch the blond kid so bad! Who does he thinks he is?!

“Oooohhhhhhhh, so now I’m the one who is the problem here?! Because you can’t act as a normal human being – you have to act as an asshole all the time up to the point where you are willing to fail a mission if it means you won’t be the one completing it!”

Sasuke glared at him, angry beyond words, when the blond suddenly backed out and started laughing as a maniac. What was wrong with that kid, Sasuke will never understand.

“Hahaha… you shou.. you shou… you should look at your face right now! HAHAHA!”

Sasuke stared at him as an alien life form.

“That is EXACTLY what I’m trying to say, you narcissistic asshole!!” he squeezed out between two laughter.

“WE are the ones who are having problems as teammates! Not you, not me – WE!”

Silence that followed was a heavy one and Sasuke couldn’t bring himself to break it. He stared into the blue eyes refusing to admit that idiot might actually be right.

It was his fault as much as Naruto`s they ended up like this, even more since he became their team leader. And as a team leader, it was his responsibility to fix it.

In that moment, a floor board Naruto was standing on broke and he fell backwards off the small terrace into the tall grass with a surprised yelp. Sasuke was next to him as Naruto got up – he looked as if he was just waiting for a sarcastic remark, but all Sasuke did was offer him a hand. 

Naruto looked at him suspiciously, but accepted it.

“I was just on my way out to train,” Sasuke said as he started walking to the main road, leaving Naruto standing in the grass. 

After he didn’t heard footsteps following him he turned around to see if the idiot accidentally broke a leg. Or was leaking brain cells.

“Are you coming or do we need walkie-talkie’s to discuss this?”


	6. Stop snickering!

Naruto followed Sasuke into the woods with somewhat concerned expression. 

What was with this guy? 

When he knocked on his door, Sasuke looked like he just exited from a haunted house, and a ghost was still waiting for him outside. He looked tormented, even if it was just for a second.

And why would be weird of him to knock on his door? Ok, except the part where they hated each other.

“You are thinking so loud my sixth sense is going to explode,” Sasuke said as they kept walking.

Naruto blushed.

“Uhh.. you know, hehe..” he grinned while automatically scratching the back of his head.

“I was just worried about… you know, Kakashi thing.”

Suddenly, Sasuke stopped walking and turned around to face him.

“Shit, I really am a terrible liar,” he thought as he was fighting between the urges to run away and fight.

For a second, Sasuke just glared at him

“You are a terrible liar, usuratonkachi.”

The urge to fight won, as Uchiha yet again succeeded to piss him off.

“Teme, stop calling me that,” Naruto growled.

Smirk crawled onto the pale face, which made the blond glare – he just couldn’t stand that face.

“Then don’t lie to me.”

“It’s not a lie.”

Even as he spoke, Naruto knew Sasuke wouldn’t buy it – it WAS a lie and they both knew it. But he felt the inexplicable need to counter, he just won’t let that smirk face have his way yet again.

Sasuke took one step closer, invading his personal space, using the fact that he was a little higher to his advantage – which made the blond even more agitated. 

“Don’t. Lie. To me.” Sasuke snarled, whipping the smaller boy with a vicious stare.

Naruto wasn`t scared of him, but something told him Sasuke won’t let it go. Fine, he wanted the truth? 

“I was worried, you asshole. Did something happen at home before I came over? Cause you looked out of it.”

Sasuke`s eyes widened in shock as he spoke, as if confirming the statement – which threw Naruto into worry. 

“So, I was right. What was it?” 

Sasuke`s face completely closed off.

“Nothing happened. You are jumping to conclusions.”

As if. Naruto may not be the best liar, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t spot one.

“Who’s the liar now, you hipocrat?”

“You mean hypocrite, moron – at least learn to properly insult me.” Sasuke snapped back, but his words didn’t carry usual bite to them.

“You…” Naruto began, but paused mid sentence, looking strangely at his companion.

“What about me now, usuratonkachi?” replied the dark haired boy.

“Did you just make a joke?” Naruto asked smilingly.

Sasuke opened his mouth, probably to deny it, but blond beat him to the punch, grinning.

“You just said you hate liars, remember?”

Sasuke`s lips ALMOST spread into a smile, but his Uchiha genetic inheritance probably wouldn’t survived it. It resulted in another smirk, which Naruto, who was closely watching, found hilarious.

For some reason, it irritated the dark haired boy.

“Stop laughing at yourself, usuratonkachi. I just pointed out how clueless you are.”

But Naruto couldn’t let go of the thought where Sasuke almost permanently dislocated his face while trying to smile, and laughed even harder at the irritated face.

Sasuke tsk-ed and continued to walk, followed by the blond who was trying to stop hysterical laughter but failed as soon as his eyes looked at the dark spiky locks.

***

They continued to walk in silence for a few miles.

It felt strange. To both of them.

Sasuke usually preferred not to be bothered while Naruto was used to being alone since people avoided him like plague. 

The blond didn’t mind the silence, but it simply wasn’t in his nature to stay silent for long.

“You know, I didn’t know you were such a loner.” He spoke, as he continued to walk behind the other boy.

Sasuke didn`t respond.

“You are so popular in class and everyone keeps saying how smart and handsome you are – I thought you had a bunch of friends hanging…”

The other boy paused for a second to turn around. Evil smirk on the pale face made Naruto slowly trail off. What is he up to?

“Did you just call me smart and handsome?”

Naruto stumbled over his feet as he simultaneously flushed and blushed. 

“I was pointing out how you had no friends!” Blue eyes glared at the narcissistic asshole walking in front of him. “But with that personality it’s no wonder!”

“Oh? Cause it sounded you are turning a little Sakura on me.” Sasuke taunted further, pissing off the blond kid.

“I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON YOU!” Naruto growled back.

This was so stupid! Sasuke was making fun of him and he completely brought it upon himself by running his mouth and handing him all the material he needs. It would be best if he just took a page out of Uchiha bible and keep quiet.

The other still didn’t turn around, but kept pushing his buttons.

“Hn… I’m not convinced. That blush isn’t helping at all, usuratonkachi.” 

Naruto barely contained himself from jumping and ripping off the spikes out of his hair.

That was before he heard snickering. Sasuke was snickering? At him?!

His jaw dropped, but his temper flared.

Next second, Naruto flew through air with raised fists at Sasuke, who sensed him coming and barely managed to shift so that fist missed his nose. Still, Naruto managed to land a hit just beneath the eye.

Sasuke stumbled, managing to keep his balance and land a punch of his own in the guts.

For a second, they glared at each other, fists ready, just waiting for the other one to make a move. Then they jumped at each other. 

Fists flew, legs kicked and swept – for each received punch there was a return one, until both of them were laying on the ground, too exhausted and beaten up to keep going.

Naruto painfully breathed and accessed the damage – his right side of the face was red and swollen and he could taste the blood in his mouth. His stomach was aching from a few clear punches Sasuke managed to land and his ankle hurt.

Still, he smiled as he was looking at Sasuke, who was just as beaten up as he was.

“You know, that shade of black really DOES look pretty on you,” he stated, wincing as he struggled back on his feet.

Sasuke glared at him as he was feeling up his face and spitted out blood.

“So, I had to beat it out of you – the fact that you have a crush on me?”

They glared at each other, before they started laughing. 

“You know, Kakashi WAS right,” Sasuke said, probably to stop himself from snickering any further. “We can’t do this any longer. Not if we want to go on the mission.”

Naruto silently agreed. 

“Then stop being an asshole to me all the time!” Naruto fully expected that Sasuke will jump in his face snarling. 

Strangely, he didn’t. Actually, he looked kind of lost in thought.

The blond was itching to poke him – he hated when he was ignored. 

“So, what are we going to do? Mission is in a few days,” he asked, disrupting Sasuke`s line of thought.

Black orbs snapped to focus and stared at the jumpy knucklehead as he rubbed his ankle, and expectantly waited for an answer.

“It would be best if we didn’t repeat this, especially in front of Kakashi.” Sasuke answered. “And, the most important part – we must start acting as a real team and as real genin. Work together.”

Naruto considered his words for a moment.

“So, basically, you will stop acting as an asshole during missions.”

Sasuke glared at the grinning blond.

“I am not…” he started, but halted in the middle of the sentence.

“Now that we worked this out – leave. I still want to train.”

The dark haired kid turned and started walking again. Naruto thought of following, just to irritate the shit out of Uchiha, but changed his mind. As if he was the only one who trained in a history of a man kind.

“Whatever,” Naruto retorted and headed back, lightly limping on his hurt ankle. After walking a few miles, he looked back.

It was a silly thing of him – he realized. He liked hanging around with the arrogant little bastard. 

Even though Sasuke acted like an asshole most of the time and they had a fistfight, Naruto realized he liked the other boy. What would Sasuke think of that, he wondered?

Uncalled for, Sasuke`s smirking face appeared before his eyes.

“Oh, you called me smart and handsome, and now you LIKE me? I told you – you have a crush on me.”

Naruto blushed all over again. 

“Right. Just what I need to. Hand him more material.”


	7. Going on a mission?

The next few days, flow of the missions suddenly changed, Naruto noticed. 

Last week, Sasuke was a team leader and for a change, he decided not to move him on a garden duty, but to put him in charge of baby food. Naruto always wanted that task, but Sasuke never gave it to him on purpose. 

After that, while they were chasing runaway dog, Sasuke didn`t halt the mission when Naruto almost captured the dog and even brought him the leash afterward. 

As a result, their bickering during the missions almost fully stopped. Naruto had nothing to complain about and their success rate grew even further. 

Both Kakashi and Sakura noticed it, but neither commented on it.

It surprised Naruto - he didn`t really think that Sasuke would stop his sabotages so that Naruto wouldn`t have higher catch-score. OR he did it just to irritate him since he disobeyed anyway.

It made Naruto think about their conversation. They didn`t talk ever since, except brief occasions during their training and missions, and Naruto missed it. Sasuke and Sakura were his first friends of any kind and even if he at first thought that Sasuke was an egocentric idiot he figured it was just a mask to keep the people away from him. 

“ But it doesn`t make any sense. I asked a few people, and they said Sasuke rarely speaks to anyone and doesn`t have any friends - even though is popular. And he was almost friendly with me while I talked to him. What happened to make him this way?” he thought but never voiced his thoughts out loud. 

After a while, Kakashi came on the morning training with an announcement - Hokage summoned them for grading their training up till now.

All three of them were excited - it meant they made a progress.

Sakura laughed happily, and even Sasuke smirked upon hearing the news. Naruto was jumping around, grinning.

As Kakashi took them to Hokage's office, they talked about what would he say.

“I think, since we have almost one hundred percent success rate, maybe we will be allowed to learn new, more complex Jutsu!” Sakura said excitedly, shifting her gaze from Naruto on Sasuke.

“What do you think, Sasuke?” she added, even though Sasuke wasn`t listening.

Dissapointment flashed through her face, instantly replaced with irritation as Naruto replied instead.

“I don`t really care about Jutsu, we can learn that anytime! I hope we get more difficult mission!” 

His words pulled a reaction out of everybody. Kakashi sighed, waving his head, while Sakura shot him a look. Even Sasuke started paying attention to where conversation was heading.

“You know we WON`T be sent on more difficult missions, Naruto, are you stupid? How can we be sent on missions if we haven`t prepared for that level of difficulty with next level Jutsu and more training?” she retorted, rolling her eyes to Sasuke at Naruto`s stupidity.

Blond`s face sunk a little at her diss, but Sasuke waved his head in disagreement.

“Actually, I agree with Naruto - a harder mission would allow us to get some field experience, which we need. Being a ninja is not only about learning Jutsu. We have to get real experience as well.””

Naruto grinned at Kakashi, who was avoiding the subject by hiding behind one of his books.

“What do you say, Kakashi-sensei?” he asked.

All three of them expectantly looked at Kakashi, who suddenly halted and smiled.

“We are here.”

That made all three of them quiet as they paused in front of a tall building for a split second before they went in.c 

Hokage`s residence had a part on the ground floor, which was for audiences with potential clients and was filled with all sorts of people. Rich lords, poor traders, working people - they all waited around the hall to be interviewed and their applications accepted.

Job requests came in all shapes and forms - from babysitting to assassinations - and were given to various ranked shinobi depending on the difficulty of the mission.

They passed through the room silently, observing the crowd around them. 

Hokage was sitting behind a table in the middle of the smaller room. Next to him, behind a giant pile of papers, seated Iruka -sensei.

Naruto stormed in first - he knew Hokage from before since he was an informal guardian of the village orphans - he wanted to show off how far he has grown. Almost two years ago, Hokage would probably be visiting him to scold him for his latest prank. Now, he was in Hokage`s office as a shinobi - genin, yes, but still a shinobi .

“Hello, old man! We came for our first evaluation of our missions!” Naruto called out, grinning from ear to ear at Hokage.

Uproar that followed was a mess. Iruka went green in face and jumped on his feet as if to scold him for his rude behaviour, before he stopped and looked Kakashi, who was akwardly opening his mouth to say something, reminded that Naruto now has a new sensei.

But Sakura was faster, punching him in the face while screaming “Idiot, that is not the way to speak to a hokage!”

Sasuke came in behind them snorting at the familiar scene in front of him, as if he wasn`t surprised that Naruto would act up. Even in front of a Hokage.

Iruka sat back into his chair, coughing out loudly to get their attention as he pulled out a sheet of paper from a pile in front of him. 

"Team 7 and Kakashi-sensei came for evaluation," he announced, handing the copy to the hokage.

Old man bit down on his pipe and sucked on it, while Iruka continued to sum up.

"So far, they went on D ranked missions which included chasing lost pets, helping in shopping and housework, gardening, babysitting and cooking. They completed their missions successfully. As for battle training, it is quite advanced for a rookie team, but theyare following the program without setbacks."

The team stood in silence and waited for Hokage to speak.

"So, they are doing well. Good, good..." Hokage started, looking at another pile of papers before him. 

The whole team almost exploded with anticipation as they waited for him to continue. Naruto was almost jumping on place, Sakura clenched and unclenched her hands next to him, even Sasuke was fully focused on hokage, interest obvious in his eyes. 

"Well, you can continue your program and as for the mission - lord needs babysitter again toni..."

In a second, all the excitement was wiped out of the room. They weren`t getting exciting mission or learning new Jutsu.

Dissapointment bubbled inside Naruto as he watched hokage doom them on another year of chasing cats and helping with grocery bags. 

"No!" he yelled, irittating Iruka-sensei again. Not after all hard work. He wasn`t stay quiet and say nothing. He was half expecting Sakura to punch him again, but suprisingly, it didn`t happen.

"Why do we only get to do boring tasks?" he whined.

This time, Iruka beat everyone to the punch,

"Because this is what genin do, Naruto! They go on a D ranked missions to accumulate expi..." started Iruka, only to be interrupted again. 

"I know!" the blond pouted, not hiding his dissapointment. "But, Iruka-sensei, that is boring! And I know that you are holding us back because I used to do pranks. I`ve gotten better, at everything! And I will never get a chance to prove it or do anything important while babysitting!"

Iruka didn`t respond. Even though he was mad at him for being rude, he knew how much Naruto wanted to prove himself - he sighed, but continued to glare at him.

"Please" he added quickly, trying to sound more polite.

"I am so going to get scolded for this later," Kakashi murmored behind him as he put a hand on Naruto`s shoulder, in a comforting gesture, silently asking him to stop.

Naruto ignored him and stared at Hokage, who was observing him the whole time. 

"Please, can`t we get any mission?" he pleaded upon sparkling brown eyes which assessed him quietly.

"All the assignments on the D rank list are pet chasing and babysiting - stop bothering the Hokage-sama!" Iruka glared at him.

"But, just this once! Please!"

Hokage shook his head, sighing.

"Fine." he accepted at last, as if making the toughest decission in his life. " I have.. a mission you could handle."

Room went completely silent again, this time in disbelief, before team 7 roared in excitement.

"Yes! We got the mission!" Naruto exclaimed, looking happily at equally excited Sakura and smirking Sasuke. Only Kakashi was still trying to grasp what just happened.

He will rock at this, no matter what it is! Anything is better than babysitting. And finally... he will get a real chance to prove he is better ninja than Sasuke!

He glanced over to the dark haired boy standing next to him with a smirk on his face, suddenly worried. He mustn`t let Sasuke overshadow him at the mission!

"..guarding duty. He is constructor on his way home. You will accompany him and guard him from thievs until he completes the bride," Hokage explained as Naruto was busy daydreaming of all the ways he could assist Sakura and best Sasuke during the misson.

"Come in, sir." Iruka called out, snapping Naruto`s attention back.

"What? Who?" he asked, looking at the door in confusion.

"The man who hired us, you idiot," bit out Sakura, slapping him on the back of his head. "Aren`t you EVER listening?!"

Elderly man came into the room, carrying a bottle of alcohol, stumbling on his way. He poured a little sake in his mouth as he was coming close enough to smell him. Instantly, all three of them took a step back. The man reeked of alcohol and sweat so bad that Sasuke even clogged his nose with the back of his hand. 

Man`s eyes widened as he gave them a one-over and looked at Hokage in horror. 

"This are my guards? You have to be kidding me! They are kids! Especially the little blond one - who will he protect me against?" 

But Hokage just waved him off and left, followed by Iruka-sensei who was still glaring at Naruto.

And just like that, Naruto started to hate his new mission. He will kick the guy so hard in the head there will be no further need for a bodyguard!

This time, Kakashi jumped in and grabbed him before he got a chance to say or do anything.

"Thank you Hokage-sama!" Kakashi greeted, before turning to their client.  
"We will go and prepare for the mission. Meet us at main fates in an hour." 

He was holding a hand firmly clamped over Naruto`s mouth, then dragged them out of the client`s earshot to deal with his angry knucklehead student.


	8. Step by step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovely readers!   
> I don`t usually do chapter notes, mainly because I suck at it, yet I wanted to let you know - this fic is not abandoned, just my work schedule is a nightmare, and I don`t get to write as much as I`d like to. :// :(  
> Next, I would like to thank you for sticking around this and giving me precious comments and kudos! Love you all, cause those always make my day, as I hope this chapter will bright up yours. Or, at least, give you a good laugh ;) xD  
> Enjoy

When they went on a mission, Sasuke never expected to be so annoyed. All the excitement he was feeling died down once they met their employer, yet it took three full days to become unbearable. 

Ever since they left Konoha, the pinkette never seemed to shut up, look at the road or their surroundings – she acted as a kid on a freakin field trip; gossiping about some completely irrelevant shit in their former classroom. Or how Naruto was dumb. Or how her parents are annoying. Gee, a great conversation starter with an orphan – list all the things he is missing out on. Wonder who she takes it after – probably the statements about her parents were true.

Still, as annoying as it was, trouble paid out, because it irritated the shit out of Naruto. 

Smirk crept on his face as he threw a quick glance to his right, where tan face began to look like a tomato.

Suddenly, a shuriken sliced through the air between them, and ended up in a tree, startling the group, followed by a couple of kunai knives. 

Sasuke instantly jumped in front of an Old man under their protection, leaving his teammates to tend to themselves. But, on his horror, the second pair of kunai flew next to them, only to cut through the frame of unsuspecting Kakashi. 

Blades pierced his chest, blood gushing out through his mouth, indicating to hurt lungs and probably stabbed heart. Sasuke felt lightheaded, watching the red liquid dripping from the wounds and mouth. The world started spinning around him, as the front of Kakashi`s chest was colored in hot red. Gray eyes were surprised, and already began to lose focus – he intimately knew that expression, the look on a person`s face before death.

It was HIM. 

This time, he came to claim his life, just like he did with the rest of their family…

The kunai he held firmly between fingers suddenly felt small and began to fall forward, barely clinging to the tips of his fingers. It didn`t matter. Kunai would provide a little defense against the death bringer of Itachi`s caliber. He could as well try to defend himself with a napkin with the same result.

He could hear Sakura screaming – of course, Itachi didn`t leave alive witnesses, it was also expected.

Yet, just as he was about to abandon all hope, another yell brought him back to his senses. 

“Kakashi-sensei!”

A boyish cry cut through his spinning world, head snapping to attention towards the source – in a split second, crimson color of despair was gone, replaced by the boiling anger.

This wasn`t his brother, but some thugs pretending to be a ninja! And he refused to be killed by the likes of those – the only person who held the right to claim his life, and likewise, was his brother.

Only, the thugs disregarded him, focusing their attention on Naruto, who was conveniently in a state of a complete shock, unable to defend himself. 

Before he even thought it through, Sasuke jumped, pushing Naruto into the ground, blocking their charge.

In that moment, the two thugs obviously decided that a moving target poses a bigger threat than his mortified blond companion, directing the assault onto Sasuke instead.

Sasuke welcomed the challenge with new anger and was still able to use his intellect to his advantage. Even though they outnumbered him, his opponents used a chain, which was, oh-so-smartly, locked around both of their hands for support.

It took him less than a minute to immobilize them by nailing the chain in question to a tree.

Kakashi decided that was the right moment to re-appear; a quick glance to where his body should have been confirmed his suspicion. Kakashi used a combination of shadow-clone and substitution Jutsu to observe the assailants.

Losing further interest in the subject, Sasuke turned and approached Naruto, who was still lying in the dirt where he pushed him out of the way.

He looked pretty shaken up, strands of his blond hair all around his face, dirty from laying on the ground. Not that usuratonkachi noticed.

Pale lips curved into a smirk – he wondered what happened to all “I`m gonna be Hokage” crap. Still, it was appropriate to give him a jab at his ninja skills – after all, he almost got himself killed.

“Are you alright?” he asked deceivingly nicely, waiting for the shocked blue eyes to find his own. “Scaredy cat!” he added, extending his arm towards the blond.

On those words, blue eyes lost any indication of fear. It amused Sasuke how quickly could the blue skies in his eyes become a raging storm.

“Wasn`t that the same effect his voice had on you?” small, vile voice in his head asked in return.

Sasuke instantly refused to accept it, yet it invoked unwanted thought in his head all the same.

He didn`t care for Naruto. No more than he cared for the pathetic excuse of a sensei or the annoying pink airhead. But, the voice was persistent, feeding upon his doubts.

“Is that why you hurried to his rescue?” it asked sarcastically.

“He would probably defend himself, even if I didn`t!” he replied forcefully, dismissing the voice.

“Why not leave it to the chance then?” snickering comment resided as the voice trailed off.

Sasuke felt his stomach clenching at last remark, but decided not to pay any attention to it, as he heard Kakashi mention his name.

“…Sasuke did a good job, of course, even Sakura managed to collect herself and defend the contractor. I didn`t think you wouldn`t be able to move… Naruto.”

Gray eyes focused the blond nin with a stern face. Naruto seemed to be on the verge of tears. But, intriguing part, at least to Sasuke, was underlying fire in his eyes, filled with determination in success.

“It was my mistake, to agree and take you on this mission. Clearly, you are not ready yet – it is too difficult and we should head back.”

Sasuke was baffled. Was Kakashi acting stupid on purpose? Didn`t he see determination, obvious in the blue eyes? 

“I completely agree with you, Kakashi-sensei!” came a relieved response behind them, followed by an instant uproar from the Old man.

“But, but.. You can`t just leave me here in the middle of the road! I paid for this mission!” The old man was sweating, clearly scared of possibility his escort would leave. 

“You lied to us in a first place. This is not a C rank mission – it is a much higher and therefore, it would be much more expensive. We have all the right to leave.” Kakashi cut off, disregarding their contractor without a second thought.

Sakura smiled to their sensei, more than happy to pick up her scared ass and return to the safety of Konoha.

“Besides,” she continued, “ Naruto is bleeding, and judging from the smell, the blades those thugs had were poisoned.”

Were they seriously just going to turn around and return to the village with a fail mission of escorting the old drunk home?! They would become the laughing stock for all the other genin!

Sasuke just opened his mouth to object, but was beaten to the punch by extremely pissed off Naruto.

“No! I won`t run and I won`t hide! We promised to take the Old man back, and I won`t go back on my word!”

Following his line of thought, the blond ripped one kunai from his bag and cut through the wound, causing the poison to bleed out of his arm. 

Sasuke noticed he cut in such a brutal manner that he made permanent damage to his hand – not that usuratonkachi would ever notice the difference.

“Alright,” Kakashi restored after a brief pause. “Then, if all of you agree, we will continue.” 

He snorted – as if he was even considering going back.

Sakura bit her lip, not giving consent.

What was that pink chicken up to now? Sasuke gave her a murderous glare which she failed to notice, occupied with other thoughts.

“Sensei, could you please teach us some more advanced Jutsu, so we can improve our fighting skills?” Sakura murmured shyly to Kakashi, who smiled at her behind his masked face.

“Actually, that is precisely what I have planned for you, once we get to our location!” white haired jounin replied, surprising all three of his students.

***

The rest of the journey almost flew by in anticipation of learning the new Jutsu. 

Naruto felt even more compelled to learn it, still hung up on his failure to move during the attack.

It was his first real life-or-death situation as a ninja, and he was ready to admit it wasn`t one of his shiniest moments.

When he thought those ninjas killed Kakashi-sensei, Naruto was completely sure they were next. He totally experienced deer-in-the-headlights moment – body and mind frozen in place, and if there wasn`t for Sasuke, he wouldn`t be so lucky to get away with only cut up the hand.

And in that moment, Naruto completely understood what everyone saw in Sasuke. The way he moved, without hesitation or fear for his own life, defeating the opponents which outranked him – he acted as a textbook example of a ninja.

At least he thought so until that same perfect ninja turned around and mocked him! No matter if he deserved it or not!

Ever since that day, Naruto found himself more and more giving into his mental counter versus the pale, dark haired boy. He counted EVERYTHING, even the small things as waking up or finishing lunch, to his win or loss. 

Not even Sakura, who offered her help to tend to his wounded arm, managed to keep him occupied from the imaginary duel. 

He just couldn`t let it be, even when he knew it was ridiculous. He knew Sasuke didn`t notice this, and that he DIDN`T wake up earlier on purpose! He just became hypersensitive to nonsense connected with Sasuke, and the reasonable part of his mind kept repeating it was the time he stopped acting like a lunatic.

They just passed the last third of the path for today, before they rest for the night.

As Naruto managed to calm his head, he decided to put more effort in his training, rather than watching every move Sasuke made.

He slowly halted his pace, falling into step with Sasuke and Sakura, who of course clung around him as if he will disappear. It was obvious to everyone that is nearly time for a rest. The old guy dragged his feet a few steps behind them, creating a steady rhythm. Draaag, step. Draaag, step. The only one in their group who was rather cheerfull, despite the late hour of the day, was Kakashi; who walked the last with some book in his hands, snickering along the way.

Naruto focused on the sunset. It felt nice to relax and enjoy the sunset in such close proximity to a certain pinkette. He grinned happily, secretly watching her long hair shine under the last rays of the sun. 

A blush crept upon his cheeks as she looked in his direction, yet managed to avoid direct eye contact. A moment later, she was looking in the other direction, allowing him once again to watch the pink threads colored in shades of red and orange. If only she would look at him the way she looks at Sasuke, just once… there is nothing he wouldn`t do for her!

Suddenly, his attention slipped, Sasuke-sense emitting he should immediately do something or he will lose once again!

Feeling ridiculous, he checked – only to notice that the bastard was walking slightly faster! 

It was JUST half a step ahead, his mind protested. And that straw of hair behind Sakura`s ear is really…

Again! This time, all of his attention snapped onto the pale boy with dark, blue-black hair who now walked A FULL STEP before him!

He isn`t doing it on purpose – Naruto argued with himself. Besides, now I can walk right next to Sakura, but am acting all stupid again, he thought as he glanced to Sasuke, who was smirking in front of him – AND THE SNEAKY BASTARD IS DEFINETLY DOING IT ON PURPOSE!!

Naruto quickly picked up the pace, matching Sasuke step by step; until Kakashi`s amused voice halted both of them.

“Are you two going to run together into the sunset or will you help the rest of us mortals set up the camp?”


	9. Climbing Trees

Ever since the attack, Kakashi noted that his genin never truly relaxed again. On the contrary, as they traveled ahead towards the village, all three of them watched the road ahead of them in complete silence, vary of possible threats lurking in the shadows of the trees, hiding behind the stones or the curves on the road. 

This event would be unsettling to any parent, seeing their children scared, but in order to become a true ninja, it was a treat that greatly pleased their sensei. 

The true reason why Kakashi wanted to prolong their stay in the village, completing the low ranked missions, was to give them the opportunity to stay children for a bit longer – to play, and be careless. Yet as all the others, they rushed to grow up. 

Looking back at the meeting with Hokage, Kakashi felt furious. It was the truth that C rank missions were usually any harder or more dangerous than D rank, but it still bothered him how easily did he let children apply to such a dangerous one. He felt it from the moment the drunk entered the room, and he was sure that Hokage also suspected it – this mission was far above the level of his genin, and those thugs were just the beginning.

As Kakashi watched his genin walk before him, he could witness how much did they change in a few weeks of their travel. They were children no longer, and nobody could give that back to them. Just like the old saying quoted: “The children with a headband that leaves through the door, never comes back. The only ones who return are adults.” 

Missions always affect the mind and the spirit of a ninja, especially if they are young and inexperienced, Kakashi thought, and almost laughed at himself. They witnessed his shadow clone being pierced by kunai, faced opponents who tried to kill them, and finally, they could not disregard the fact that he killed ninjas from the other village. Given their choice of profession, even though they are fourteen years old, they are put in a simple kill-or-be-killed situation, which grants them a status of the adult by default.

And if they are to live to see another day, they must learn proper ways of defense from ninjutsu and ninjutsu, especially if his predictions about this mission were correct.

Still, he was worried about them, especially the boys who had nobody to prepare them properly for what to expect. Who knows how will this lifestyle affect them mentally in the long term?

Sasuke witnessed God knows what while he was still at very young age, and it was a wonder that he managed to keep it together. Although, it seemed that he was becoming less detached since he entered his team, especially around Naruto. That was also a good thing for Naruto, who was the most neglected child he ever met, even though that was not a surprise either, given the circumstances he was born at. Yet, as he witnessed the boys getting closer as the time passed, he found it amusing how the two broken souls found and understood each other so easily, even when they did not fully understand why. 

Kakashi purely doubted that Naruto ever shared with anybody how alone he felt, and he was completely sure that Sasuke did not tell anyone about what happened to his family. As happy as he felt that they managed to progress socially, he was angry at Hokage that it all got to be taken away so quickly. If his opinion would be considered, they would never leave Konoha, until they were emotionally ready to deal with it, on top of everything that happened to them in the past.

But, since there was no way he could reverse the order of events, Kakashi just decided to allow them to progress more quickly, to be ready. He didn`t want what happened to his genin team to happen to them as well, and if that tiny balance between them was in any way severed by death, Kakashi was sure that the other one would be forever broken as well. 

After all, he was never the same after what happened to Obito and Rin.

***

Once they entered the small village of their employer, the drunk man took them to his house to rest, but since it was still early, Kakashi scheduled a training after lunch. 

As they entered the woods in the area, all of them seemed to relax a bit in the familiar surrounding and routine that mirrored the one they had in Konoha. 

After basic warm up, Naruto, determined to win at least something that day, challenged Sasuke to a kunai competition. Even if it was just a practice, both of them took it seriously, giving their best to hit all the targets. Sasuke, of course, took only one try to get a kunai in the middle of each target, even the remote target behind the tree. Which only pissed off the blond. It took him four tries.

In that moment, Kakashi stopped the exercise and revealed the reason he urged them to resume training so quickly after the arrival.

“As you know, our client was attacked by shinobi from the other village, and it is highly probable that they will try again,” he said, and faces of all of his students were suddenly serious, focused on his words. Even Naruto had no problem in understanding the severity of the situation. 

“So, I am about to teach you a ninjutsu that will improve your chances in case we would engage with another opponent. This Jutsu I am about to teach you is high-level skill, and it requires refined chakra control you have yet to master, so pay attention.” 

In the way he highlighted those last words, Naruto rolled his eyes but continued to watch their sensei carefully.   
Kakashi stood still, as he balanced his chakra before he explained any further. All three of them stood silently, in order not to miss a thing.

“First, you must focus your chakra in the bottom of your feet,” Kakashi said, before gesticulating them to try.

In complete silence, all three of them closed their eyes, struggling to feel their own chakra. 

Soon after, Sakura giggled victoriously. “I did it!” she exclaimed happily, turning to Sasuke, who did not look as if he was sharing it. 

It took both of them few more minutes in order to properly direct right amount of chakra into their feet.

“Ok. Next, you have to pay attention on how much chakra you channel,” Kakashi continued as he walked to the nearest tree. 

“If you channel the balanced amount, you will be able to this,” he finished and walked up the tree and sat on the branch few meters off the ground. 

Naruto was mesmerized by the skill, as he witnessed Kakashi-sensei hanging off the branch like a bat, his feet seemingly glued to the tree, without putting any visible effort into it at all. 

Eager to try it for themselves, all three of them gathered their chakra and waited for the signal to start.

Kakashi threw kunai before each of them.

“When you climb, use your kunai to mark how high did you manage to climb. Until you master this skill, you should run up to catch the momentum. Start!”

At the mark, all three of them started their climb, only to find it is not as easy as it looked.

***

Sasuke carefully gathered hid chakra, channeling the perfect amount to his feet, but as he jumped on the tree and started to run up, suddenly it got difficult for him to maintain it. He didn`t manage more than three steps before he felt tree underneath his feet breaking, the force pushing him away from the tree, threatening to knock him down. As he lost momentum, dark haired boy landed gracefully on the soft grass. 

“Tsk.” 

He turned around to see how other two are progressing, feeling irritated at his failure. The feeling enhanced as he saw that Sakura managed to get few steps higher than he did. On the other hand, Naruto slipped after barely one step, and was currently busy with massage of the back of his head, and glaring up at the tree. 

It didn`t take for him to be a genius to see what was happening. If he used too much chakra, he would push himself off of a tree again, but if he used too little, his feet would not hold onto the surface, and he would slip just like Naruto did.

Determined to succed, they tried again. Then again. And once more. 

Each time Sasuke ran up the tree, he managed to climb a little higher, but barely for a half of step than the last time. Some other would be satisfied with that, but little of his upbringing he did remember taught him that failure was not something to be considered good enough. You either succeeded or tried as many times as necessary until you did. 

The thorn in his mind was, of all three of them, Sakura was the one who managed to progress the fastest. 

Not even half a day later, Sakura easily walked up the tree, sat on the branch and started giggling and waving towards him, ignorant as usual of the fact that he did not share happiness for her success. He did not hate her, but he was too competitive to feel anything other than jealousy when others outdid him in anything, particularly if that was ninja training. It wasn`t the only genius that kept him on the position of the best student on their year, his competitive character played a large part in that as well. He was simply raised that way, and he could not help it even if he wanted to – which he didn`t. 

***

Kakashi, who was following their progress, decided she wouldn`t gain anything from more chakra control training, given that she mastered it in the record time. He considered Sasuke and Naruto. Given that they had a lot more chakra than Sakura, possibly even more than him, it was natural that it was much harder for them to manage to control it. It could take days, maybe even a week. 

“Can you climb to the top?” he asked the pinkette, who nodded and succeed up, outside their line of sight. 

***

Naruto started cheering her on, happy for her success, unlike Sasuke, who glared furiously as Sakura climbed back down as if wishing she lost control, fell, and broke her neck. 

Upon hearing him cheering pinkette on, Sasuke felt even more angry at her. He could never understand fixation that the blond had on her, she was annoying as hell. On the other hand, even though he understood the principle of chakra control, he didn`t understand what exactly was he doing wrong. 

Kakashi turned to Sakura, smiling.

“Alright, given that you mastered this, you shall accompany our client into town. I am promoting you to his personal guard during our stay here,” he said to pinkette, who went to gather her equipment, before leaving to town. 

“As for you two,” Kakashi continued, diverting his look towards him, then to Naruto. “You have to continue this practice until you managed to control your chakra enough to at least climb the first branch.”

Sasuke shot him a glare. So, he will be stuck here with Naruto, climbing trees, and Sakura will actually get to do some real work in protecting their contractor. 

He turned to the tree for another try, anger bubbling inside of him, and glanced towards Naruto to see his progress, only to realize that the blond wasn`t climbing. Confused, he halted and turned around to see what was the idiot up to now.

Naruto was frowning, looking at the markings he made during the exercise, which almost didn`t move up at all. Sasuke felt himself smirking because he knew that he made more progress. Suddenly, the blond jumped to his feet and approached Sakura, who was just getting ready to leave, and they whispered something. At the end of their short conversation, the blond was grinning again and resumed his exercise.

“Thank you, Sakura-chan!” Naruto excaimed, getting ready to start again with new determination on his face.

Eager to know what they talked about, Sasuke was waiting for Sakura to leave, deciding that the one to spill the info would most likely be Naruto. Kakashi left a few minutes before, probably reading one of his books somewhere in the shade of the woods. 

As he waited, he watched Naruto on the mark with his eyes closed, standing uncharacteristically calm. It was a strange sight, watching the loudmouth concentrate. He looked as if he is a child sulking, lips pressed together tight, and faced locked down into a small frown.

Suddenly, blue eyes flew open, mesmerizing Sasuke with calmness and focus in them.

“Naruto…” he spoke up before he could stop himself. His memory brought up the image of his older brother. Itachi used to have eyes just like that. Before they became cold and calculated, Sasuke loved looking into those calm, loving eyes, as they followed his training, or watched him playing… The vision was so clear that Sasuke easily got lost in warm memories…

“WHAT?!?!” irritated voice snapped him back to reality as the bucket of cold water, forcing him to focus on reality. 

In that second he lost, blue orbs were suddenly directly in front of him. Naruto exclaimed stopped his training and came over, in order to deal with the cause of the interruption, but since Sasuke wasn`t responding he leaned forward and yelled to snap him out.

Sasuke felt overwhelmed with the sudden physical presence in such close proximity. He avoided physical contact from anyone at all times, because it felt uncomfortable, yet in that moment, as electric blue eyes were so close that he could count the sparkles in them, and his nose filled with sweet, fresh scent, he didn`t feel the urge to step away. His attention barely snapped back as he forced himself to look at an angry whisker-marked face, struggling to make sense of the words which soft, pink lips were forming. 

Too close, he thought but didn`t move away. Naruto is too close. 

“…when I`m trying to concentrate! So, I ask again, WHAT?!” 

A pale face lightly blushed. Naruto was too close, and he could not concentrate. His stomach turned as he was struggling to remember what was he going to say to him before.

Finally, he spoke up.

“I saw you getting tips from Sakura,” he said, “can you tell me what she said to you?”

Naruto stared at him for a few seconds, as if he didn`t believe that he heard it correctly, before breaking down in laughter.

“I`m so not telling!” he grinned at him teasingly, before he returned to the exercise.

Sasuke cursed himself silently, still slightly confused with his earlier reaction, and returned to the task at hand. This was not the right time to be spacing out! This is the technique which should eventually help him defeat his older brother… And Naruto certainly won`t be the one to best him at it!


End file.
